Giving Compass' Take:

· Christina Veiga at Chalkbeat discusses New York City's expansion of free pre-K for 4-year-olds and Mayor Bill de Blasio's plans to extend programs for even younger children. Although this is a great initiative, education experts explain that the year difference in age means that the program cannot just be a duplicate, but must cater to the needs of these younger students.

· How does preschool influence the potential of youths? How does it help prepare young children for school? 

· Here's why pre-K is so important. 

With a classroom full of squirming 3-year-olds, Kristal Torres at P.S. 277 in the Bronx keeps morning routines short. On a recent fall day, her class started out seated on a rug and singing a welcome tune that called children by name. But within five minutes, they were up and jumping to an upbeat version of the ABCs.

Upstairs, the students in Margie Cruz’s pre-K class of mostly 4-year-olds were sitting patiently around their teacher. They waited as long as 15 minutes for their turn to pick a play center, describing their choice to Cruz before heading off to dig in sand, stack blocks, or cook a pretend meal in a pint-sized kitchen.

New York City has been lauded for its rapid of expansion of free pre-K for 4-year-olds, and now Mayor Bill de Blasio is pushing to expand his signature education effort for even younger students through the city’s 3-K for All program. But as schools welcome 3-year-olds, experts say that serving these children well isn’t as simple as duplicating what’s already in place for older students.

Schools must adapt to reflect the difference a year can make in the lives of 3 and 4 year olds — in attention spans, behaviors, and expectations for the city’s youngest students. Experts warn that failing to recognize those differences could get in the way of deeper learning, or even create behavior challenges if teachers don’t recognize what’s developmentally appropriate as children grow.

Read the full article about building New York City’s pre-K by Christina Veiga at Chalkbeat.